Discuss the
audience appeal of your three main texts [30].
My first television text is J.J. Abram’s ‘Lost’. Lost is a
mainstream text and targets a popular and wide spread audience, known as a ‘mainstream
audience’. Conventions of this particular text can be seen repeatedly
throughout Lost, specifically in the scene where a group of people go for a
hike in search for a radio signal. Camera shots like close-ups, high-angles and
dutch angles are used along with non-diegetic sound to create enigma codes,
which hook the audience into the programme. For example, in the scene where a
group of six go for a hike in search for a radio signal, a non-diegetic ‘boom’
sound is heard, the noise exaggerated creating an enigma code as the audience
do not know what made this sound, a straight cut to a tracking shot of
something moving at a fast pace in the grass. This tracking shot is shot at a
dutch angle creating another enigma code as the audience don’t know what animal
this is. Fast paced, mid-shots and tracking shots are used to capture five of
them running away into the jungle. A mid-shot is used to capture Sawyer (the
sixth member of the group) pointing a gun towards this animal, the camera is
positioned at a dutch angle creating uncertainty. Shot reverse shot is then
used to capture Sawyer shooting towards the animal, then to the beast running
towards him and back to Sawyer. Through the use of a close-up and the dialogue
it is established that the animal running towards them was a Polar Bear. This
is another enigma, as the audience are aware that Polar Bears don’t belong in
that climate, leaving the audience questioning the text and becoming more
entertained.
Various different enigma codes have been set up for the
audience to follow within Lost, which leave the audience questioning the text
and also hooking them in to discover the future events within the program.
These enigma codes boost the appeal of the show to audiences as they offer a
sense of gratification, social integration and entertainment. The mainstream
audience who view ‘Lost’ take a passive viewing of the program, this is
because, through the dialogue, they’re being told everything which results in
the audience sitting back and taking the information that they’re being given
without questioning it. An example of this would be in the opening scene of the
second episode where a tracking shot is used to follow three characters,
Charlie, Kate and Jack, as they walk through the jungle. Through the dialogue
you can hear them talk about the plane crash, telling the audience straight
away what has happened to them, resulting in a passive audience as they’re
being told the action.
As well as through the mise-en-scene and the cinematography
the audience appeal is boosted through websites which promote the show. The
production company of Lost, ABC, stock Lost merchandise on their website,
allowing fans of the show to buy t-shirts, DVDs, toys of the characters and
more. As well as the merchandise you can find a section about Lost, linking
different biographies of the characters that feature in the different seasons
of Lost. Whilst researching I found various blogs dedicated into posting
information, pictures and scenes from the Lost seasons. When looking at the
articles on fan sites I have found that none of the fans post comments about
certain episodes, which confirms the mass audience take the preferred reading
and are being passive, not arguing with the different scenarios in Lost.
However, the blogs boost the audience appeal to the show as other viewers can
visit these sites and research more into the program.
My second text for this section is Mad Men, season 5 episode
11. Mad Men appeals to a niche audience, because the production company and the
channel the program is shown on is ‘AMC’ an independent, American cable show.
Audiences in Britain would have to subscribe in able to watch the show. The
episode received directing and writing nominations at the 2012 Primetime Emmy
Awards as well as Lead Actor, Lead Actress and Supporting Actress in a drama
series. The episode also received critical acclaim from TV journalists, along
with the nominations at the Emmy’s it boosts the audiences appeal to the
program as it is shown to be successful. The advertising for season 5 of Mad
Men was marketed by Sky Atlantic with the tag line “The four-time Emmy Winner
is back” showing more of the audiences appeal as it shows that the program has
won awards and has been nominated for them.
Through the mise-en-scene audiences may gain gratification
from the program as the attention to detail shows clear representations of
1960s culture. Joan Harris- portrayed by Christina Hendricks- was styled to
represent a typical female in the 60s. Her hair style, make-up and the way she
dresses is typical to the time period as she has been styled to emphasize her ‘hour-glass
figure’, with dresses that were pulled in at the waist; this was a body type
women aimed for/ wanted in the 60s.
“A top-notch episode full of closed-door talks and identity
politics,” in Mad Men you can see references to identity politics, which you
can also see within Sky Atlantic’s advertisement for the program. A wide shot
is used to capture Jon Hamm’s character, Don Draper, looking into what appears
(through the mise-en-scene) as a shop window. You can see that it is this
character due to the reflection. In the window you can see a display of two mannequins,
one male and one female. The male has been constructed to sit down, fully
clothes on an old fashioned chair. The woman in the shot has no clothes on and
has been constructed to represent women as sexual objects for male pleasure.
The female mannequin is captured standing on a slightly raised platform in
front of the male mannequin clearly showing men’s power over women during the
60s.
In terms of uses and gratifications, the audience would find
escapism within the program as they’re learning about another time. This links
with ‘retrophilia’ where the audience enjoy watching and learning things about the
past. Retrophilia also links in with information that the audience would get
from the program as it gives the audience authentic information on the 1960s
due to the amount of detail within the program.
Within this episode we see Peggy Olson’s departure from the
company, through research and looking at various fan websites and the guardian
newspaper discussions, I found that audiences were shocked with this departure.
In the episode a wide shot is used to capture Peggy waiting with contends from
her desk for an elevator. The shot captures her smiling as you hear the non-diegetic
music of ‘You really got me’ playing as she walks out of the frame. The music
at the end of this shot was described as a “massive musical climax” on the
Guardian’s page, the post then went on to say “This rush of rock’n’roll seemed
significant, as if it was representative of all the exciting adventures yet to
come for Peggy.” Audiences and fans of the show took to forums and blogs to
post comments onto them discussing Peggy’s departure. Comments such as “Peggy’s
departure came as a surprise” (the Guardian), show shock within the audience at
Peggy’s departure and show that Mad Men is a character driven program rather
than plot driven as the audience(s) follow the stories of the characters on the
show. Compared to Lost, the fans of Mad Men are much more active as they
discuss the scenarios that happen within the certain episodes on blogs with
other fans. Some fans review and conduct a deep discussion on the program/
episode. For example ‘The Orange Couch’ looked at season 5 episode 11 on their
YouTube channel and opened a deep discussion about themes and scenarios within
that particular episode, confirming the audience of Mad Men take a more active
role. These forums and blogs created by the fans offer them gratification and
social integration as they can debate the themes within the program with
others, which boosts the appeal of the program.
My third and final text for this section is Steven Knights ‘Peaky
Blinders’. This crime drama, set in 1919, follows former World War One soldiers
who have returned home and formed a criminal gang in Birmingham. The program
aired on BBC Two, a channel which screens programmes targeting the arts,
culture and drama and some comedy. These types of texts appeal to audience who
aren’t already served by BBC One of ITV. Over its first 30 years the channel developed
a reputation for screening highly praised and prestigious ‘high-brow’ drama
series. A ‘high-brow’ text is rich in intelligence and culture. Peaky Blinders
has elements of a high-brow text but it also contains mainstream conventions
such as the music. The Peaky Blinders soundtrack includes contemporary artists
such as Nick Cave and The White Stripes, this use of modern music intertwined
within the program creates a post-modern program, it also boosts audience
appeal as they may be fans of the artists
The text has been complemented for its high production value
and cinematography. An active audience would take gratification from this as
(cinematically) it resembles a movie. Peaky Blinders has been compared to the
American Program ‘Boardwalk Empire’, as both programmes are stylistic, have
film star casts, set in the past and are about crime. A negotiated audience
would enjoy the text however would think that it lacks originality as it often
seems to mirror some of the key narrative themes from Boardwalk Empire, the
American text set in the same era. The text was also accused of giving up its
artistic merit and realism for mainstream convention.
The cast of Peaky Blinders is another element which boosts
the audiences appeal to the program as three of the actors are movie stars.
Cillian Murphy who portrays ‘Tommy Shelby’ in Peaky Blinders is a well-known
actor who has featured in films such as ‘Inception’ (2010), ‘The Dark Knight’
(2008) and ‘Batman Begins’ (2005). Award winning actor Sam Neill, portrays ‘Inspector
Chester Campbell’ in Peaky Blinders. He is well known for his roles in ‘Jurassic
Park’ (1993), ‘Jurassic Park III’ (2001), ‘The Piano’ (1993) and ‘The Hunt For
Red October’ (1990). ‘Aunt Polly’ is portrayed by award winning actress Helen
McCroy. McCroy is well known for her role as Draco Malfoy’s mother in the Harry
Potter series as well as her roles in ‘Skyfall’ (2012) and ‘Hugo’ (2011). By
casting films stars into the program, Peaky Blinders boosts its appeal as a
wider audience made up of fans of these actors would have viewed the program.
The encoding and decoding model is a theory which Stuart
Hall devised for an active audience which examines the relationship between a
text and its audience. Encoding is the process by which a text is constructed
by its producers and decoding is the process by which the audience reads,
understands and interprets a text. Everything that is being shown to the
audience has been constructed and encoded for them to decode. By encoding the
text it allows the audience to participate and become more active with the text
which gratifies them, letting them go to forums and chat rooms and discuss the
text with others.
In response to Peaky Blinders,
audiences and fans took to forums and blogs to discuss the program. BBC Two
also have a web page dedicated to Peaky Blinders. Information on the cast, music
as well as clips and articles are linked onto this website allowing the
audience to research more into this program and become a more active audience.
It also keeps them updated about the second series that is soon to be released.
